All the Lovely Children by Andrew Nance ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

"She tossed the ball up a couple of times and then heard a soft sound, followed by another, and then another. Sudden fear coursed through Savannah. She couldn't tell which direction the noise came from but she thought it sounded like three soft footsteps, like someone sneaking around, maybe even creeping up on her. She noted how loud her breathing was and how her heartbeat was way too fast.  The sound was never repeated, but she was still certain someone was close by. She could sense them."

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review. 

June 2018; Red Adept Publishing; 978-1948051057
ebook, print (320 pages); thrillers

All the Lovely Children is a fantastic suspenseful novel by an author who was new to me. The main character is very well-written and her history is peeled back in layers as we get the whole story of her past and are involved with her in the present.

This is a dual timeline novel - the early part of the story takes place when Charly is 13. She's a tomboy and her best friends are male. During that summer, three girls disappear from her small town where everyone knows everyone's business and she and her two best friends try to find clues that will help the sheriff find the missing girls. She and her friends refer to the kidnapper as the Snatcher and he changes their lives in ways they never expected. Clues overlooked by the inept sheriff left only one child to survive: Charly. She managed to fight back and kill the Snatcher. Or so everyone thought... Now, over 20 years later, there are again girls missing in the small town she grew up in and there are very similar circumstances to the earlier disappearances. The new sheriff, an old friend, asks her to come back to town and help solve the disappearances. Is the Snatcher back, or is there a copycat? Charly must face her past and her own personal demons in a race against time to save the latest victim.

I loved the character of Charly. As a child she was stubborn and intent on helping to find the Snatcher - nothing and no one scared her even though she went places she should have avoided. As an adult, she was just as brave and intent on solving the abductions and managed to get into some rough situations as she tried to find the missing girls.

Note:  Because this is a book about abducted young girls, they are some uncomfortable scenes. The author manages to keep this to a minimum.

This is a well told suspenseful novel that kept me turning pages until I got to the surprising ending.

Buy All the Lovely Children at Amazon

Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina when she isn't traveling. She and her husband enjoy traveling, gardening and spending time with their family and friends. She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and thrillers. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with Susan on Facebook, Goodreads, or Twitter. 

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